


What You Missed, You Can Regain

by RubixaSeraph



Series: DMC Community Projects [4]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: (i am saving that for a different story), Beginnings to a good family holiday, Fluff, Nero accepts that his family is coming for Yule, Patty sorts out the Sparda Family Mess, but not the actual holiday itself, reconnecting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubixaSeraph/pseuds/RubixaSeraph
Summary: The past is something that can neither be replicated, nor can it be changed. But moving forward, there is always a way to create something new, in order to make up for what was given up.Just because some things were too late, didn’t mean there weren’t other avenues that can’t make up for it.And Vergil will find that what is left of his family was bigger than just Dante and (the unexpected) Nero.He can still find solace and warmth in the people that Dante and Nero both have added to their family.For DMC Week 2020, Day 4: Food | Style | Music
Relationships: Dante & Nero (Devil May Cry), Dante & Patty Lowell, Dante & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Kyrie/Nero (Devil May Cry), Nero & Nico (Devil May Cry), Nero & Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Series: DMC Community Projects [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953397
Comments: 10
Kudos: 96





	What You Missed, You Can Regain

**Author's Note:**

> \- A story largely unrelated to any of my ongoing series. This is just a plain post DMC5 story.  
> \- I don’t think Fortuna celebrated “Christmas” so my alternative is always calling it “Yule.” End of the year family time. I know I’m not actually describing what traditional “Yule” is supposed to be but I just don’t think “Christmas” works.  
> \- I maintain that it is not out of character for Vergil to lean in to the idea of a loving family now. He just needs to take time to figure it out.  
> \- Just a quick warning; pacing for this is not perfect because I didn’t give myself enough time to plan things out, and at the same time this needed to be a single story to fill the prompt.  
> \- I’m very sorry if the quality of this fic was lacking in some places!

Dante had ran a lot through his mind during his time in Hell. 

Vergil had said that they had lots of time. But eventually, Dante knew things would get stagnant in Hell. But beyond that, Dante missed the nice things from the human world. Things that he was willing to bet his brother never took the time to enjoy. 

Blast it, he’ll even accept Vergil’s badmouthing towards pizza if he could get him to find a thing or two from the human realm he’d appreciate. 

To hell with “this was our father’s home.” What nonsense. Sparda clearly didn’t care to go back to Hell after giving Mundus a piece of his mind the first time. 

Dante even said as much. Of course, there was a brief fight following that before the two of them reached an understanding on that front, but what else was new? In the however long they have spent down in the Underworld, they fought, they talked, and Dante slowly tried to convince Vergil that they ought to go back to the human realm. 

At first, Dante whined about missing pizza and strawberry sundaes, and complained about how absorbing red orbs made for dull sustenance. Of course, all that did was annoy Vergil, but eventually Dante learned that the mention of a comfortable bed did get a slightly better reaction. So, disguising his poking and prodding behind fights and acts of annoyances, Dante reached a few conclusions:

One, Vergil was damn tired but just too proud to admit it. Okay, Dante should have expected that already. 

Two, Vergil still liked sweets, but again, was too proud to admit it. There is _nothing_ childish about liking sweets. Dante is willing to bet his big bro will still fight him for good chocolate. Well, Vergil can have all the chocolate in the world if it means Dante can have his brother safely home. 

Three, the topic of preparing food solicited an odd back and forth that went like this:

“Am I supposed to expect that you will show me the wonders of human food by making it yourself?” Vergil jabbed. 

“Oh, what? Are you telling me you’d know the kitchen better than me?”

“Considering how poor father’s cooking was, I will not even try to imagine that you could do any better!”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from _you_! We’re brothers! You might as well be saying you’re just as bad in the kitchen!”

Of course, Vergil bristled at that. “I’m willing to bet you do not even understand how to wield a kitchen knife!”

“And you do?”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, Dante. I spent a month in Fortuna assisting in the kitchen for--” Suddenly, Vergil clammed up, realizing he was touching on yet another topic he had been reluctant to impart more of.

Dante smirked, knowing he had won _somewhere_ in this argument. “What’s that? You were doing what in Fortuna?”

“That is not the point of this conversation. I was merely stating that I likely understand cooking better than you do, as I had assisted with ingredient preparations many times.”

Feeling a little less antagonistic this time, Dante just added fondly: “Like how mom ended up relegating dad to only ingredient prep?”

While Dante was relaxed and grinning with his sword over his shoulders, Vergil stared with a neutral expression. 

Finally, the older of the twins looked away, with a quiet response: “Not quite. I knew better than to offer more than my knife work. And it was all she asked for, anyway.”

Well, that was as good as that conversation went, but Dante added “willing to help in the kitchen” and “actually spent time with someone who was possibly Nero’s mother” to his small lists of new facts about his brother. 

Four, Vergil definitely hadn’t had proper food between jumping the tower and raising the Qliphoth, save for “Griffon stole a cheeseburger for V, if you would like to count that.”

And five: The magic word was “Nero.”

It was the final piece to everything, when Dante finally took an approach that he brought up in earnest; because he wanted his family back together again, and he didn’t want to lose any more time with them again: “I know you say we have a long time, Verge, but do you really want to spend the rest of our lives down here? Time might have a different meaning to you, but you got a kid up there that you’re missing time with. Twenty-something years is already pretty bad. If you wait too long, you might be missing out years with your grandkids, too.”

Though he knew it was going to be a long while before Vergil would say anything about the time he had spent in Fortuna, Dante was willing to be patient so long as they actually made progress somewhere. 

Somewhere in that thick skull and frozen heart of Vergil’s, there was a place in his memory and his heart for a woman who gave him respite for one short month. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have mentioned her on his own, prior. 

And maybe Dante was reading into it too much when his brother admitted: “I have squandered too much of the gifts of family, haven’t I?”

Since then, while Dante couldn’t really count the days, in what felt like only a few days, Vergil put effort into finding a way out, and they fought their way out of Hell with guns blazing. (At least, where Dante was concerned.)

* * *

Dante’s office was surprisingly _clean_ when they got back. But the moment he saw the note with his name on his desk, he knew _exactly_ who cleaned his office and who left that note there while he was gone.

Opting to ignore Patty’s message for now, Dante urged Vergil to get some rest. He didn’t think much yet on the fact that someone was thoughtful enough to have gotten the guest room prepared, or the fact that someone had been paying the water and electric bills while he was gone. 

Months in hell could wear someone out. 

They slept for three days straight. 

Almost four, if Vergil hadn’t woken Dante up with a sharp jab to his side with the Yamato’s handle. (Better than stabbing him, however. That’s an improvement.) Once he had been woken up, however, Dante dared to say that Vergil barely slept for a day, and got fed up with waiting. He barely looked rested, and Dante had the delayed realization that his brother was not entirely all right, yet. But right now? He wanted to tread carefully. 

He couldn’t afford to mess this up. 

He wanted Vergil to stay. 

And that meant some things required some tact. Which, admittingly, might be something they are both bad at. 

The first thing Vergil said once Dante trudged himself downstairs, was: “There seems to be a very angry message from one Miss Lowell left for you.”

“Yeah that’s-- Wait! Did you read my mail?”

“Funny, I didn’t see it postmarked. If you’re talking about those stacks of bills over there…”

“You know what I mean, Verge!”

He wasn’t exactly that mad at his brother for reading Patty’s letter, because he could guess what it was about. But if Vergil was going to make a habit of this in the future, it was going to be a problem. 

There was a pause. And then Vergil said softly: “I thought it might have been important. You never spoke of this girl before. Is she your…” 

Thankful that Vergil trailed off, Dante immediately cut in: “She was an orphan involved in one of my hunting jobs when she was barely school-age. Comes and goes as she pleases and nags me about cleaning my office. Lives with her mom, now. That’s about it.”

Vergil’s eyes darted towards the letter, and then he fixed his gaze back on Dante. “From how upset she seemed about you missing out on her 18th birthday, among the list of childish demands and gifts she claims you owe her, I thought this child was something… more, to you.”

Well, when you put it that way…

He sucked in a breath, trying to figure out how to explain this. “Look, the young miss is stubborn. I had hoped if she saw what a hopeless mess I was, she’d leave me alone and go on with her life, where it’s safer than being around me. But sometimes kids just grow on you. And next thing you know, they’re part of your life whether you like it or not.” 

Vergil contemplated this, and finally nodded solemnly. “I see. Then, Nero…”

“I’m sure he’ll come around. But before we figure out how to face him, I need to make a few phone calls, and get things back in order. Still got an agency to run--”

“And debts to pay, don’t you?”

At that, Dante could only groan.

* * *

Almost an hour and a half of negotiations and being yelled at over the phone by various parties, starting with warm welcomes from Morrison, followed by immediate receipt pulling from Lady, and moving on to a strangely subdued report from Trish about the going ons of the past few months, Dante came to realize that it was the beginning of December. 

This meant Christmas was rolling around, or a version of Yule in Fortuna. 

He flipped through the stack of mail on his desk. There! A card, sent from Fortuna.

Every year since meeting the kid, he had been invited by Kyrie and Nero both. And every year, he declined. He had probably only gone down to visit once or twice a year, and never acting like he was doing it on purpose, always making up some excuse that he was passing by. 

But this year, it was going to be different. It had to be. 

He was willing to give in to the heartache and realization that, despite everything that happened, they still sent a card to the shop, hoping that he would show up. 

Tearing the envelope open (with a swipe of his new summoned swords ability that was totally cooler than Vergil’s,) he pulled out the holiday card and flipped it open. 

Kyrie’s neat script read:

> _Dear Mr. Dante,_
> 
> _A lot happened between May to June. But true family will always find a way back to each other.  
>  _ _It has been hard, but we still hope that you might one day accept the invitation to Yule with us.  
>  _ _But this time, I would like to invite you not as our friend, but as Nero’s family._
> 
> _With well wishes,  
>  _ _Kyrie_
> 
> _P.S. Your friends had given us what insight they felt comfortable in giving, regarding your history with Nero’s father. While I will never forget the harrowing day Nero was hurt in our garage, please, extend my invitation to your brother. I pray that we can heal as a family, as opposed to keeping a rift made of scars._

Ever the angel, Kyrie was far too kind. Dante could only imagine how spooked and even upset she must have been, when Nero had not only gotten hurt, but left barely weeks later without much of a word to her. She had every right to hate Vergil for what he did, but she was choosing to give him a chance.

Still, the fact that she had sent this card sometime in early November meant that that couple had worked through things, and that undid a knot in his heart. Nero deserved the joy in the family he has with this young woman, and with the children they foster. 

On the other side of the card, using only the bottom half and scrawled in all uppercase with no signed name, was Nero’s half of the message. Kid didn’t mean to always come off “loud” in his messages but his handwriting was stuck that way since he was left handed in his everyday tasks.

> _IF YOU DON’T SHOW THIS YEAR, I’M GOING TO KNOCK YOU AND YOUR BROTHER’S HEADS TOGETHER SO HARD THAT YOU’LL BE SEEING STARS FOR DAYS. MAKE SURE YOU BOTH SHOW. OTHERWISE WE’RE GOING TO HAVE LEFTOVERS FOR WEEKS._

It’s cute when he throws these demands around like they’re threats. But Dante knows better. 

He knew that if he’d just stop blowing the kid off and be earnest with him, Nero would also drop the punk attitude with him. 

But first, there was a lot more to take care of. 

He had less than a month to get Vergil sorted out. 

This is going to be the first Christmas (or Yule) that the two of them could have properly since decades. 

And Dante wanted it to be memorable for everyone. 

* * *

“Alright, bro. We’ve got a deadline.”

“The way you’re grinning tells me this bodes ill.” Vergil deadpanned from the couch as Dante strode into his view. 

“Now, don’t be like that.” He sat down beside Vergil, the two complementary to each other as usual. Vergil, cool and collected, book in hand. Dante, haphazard and impatient, sprawled beside him and ready to annoy him. 

“Then do tell, what deadlines do you speak of? If it’s your debts, I will have no part of it.”

“Ah, well I managed to negotiate a stay on that debt collecting for now. Until after New Years. I owe Lady more than just bill money and I owe Trish favors. But that’s all stuff to figure out after. For now? We take up some jobs from Morrison, and save up money for Christmas.”

The stare that Vergil gave him was actually…

He seemed upset. And he didn’t waste a moment saying so: “What nonsense. Christmas…” 

And to that, Dante could only close his eyes and give in to a bitter smile. “Yeah. Christmas.”

Things could have gone in many different directions from here. Vergil could have picked a fight. Stormed off. Or, heavens forbid, maybe have a breakdown…

Dante knows why Vergil is bitter about this suggestion. Because he had been quite bitter about these things, too. Came up with whatever excuse he had to not celebrate. (Tried to drink himself to oblivion _almost_ every year, but then he had scared Lady once with that stunt, and then Patty came along… and suddenly, he had people he couldn’t disappoint anymore…)

So, trying to add some “words for good measure,” he coaxed Vergil with: “Yule with Nero, and his family?”

He gave Vergil time to evaluate this. 

And finally, he heard his brother shift, and closed his book. 

“I’m willing to give it a try, so long as your plan is not inane.”

“Oh, come on. I always have good ideas.”

“And I beg to differ.”

* * *

About a week and a half later, through work and squabbles about “work”, they made enough income to set aside money for the first month of bills for the upcoming new year. (The good thing about owning the building itself was that Dante didn’t have to pay rent. Morrison dropped by at one point to return his deed to him, and Vergil was surprisingly cordial with the broker. But then again, technically, they had already met, haven’t they?)

Dante had to say, he should have seen this coming, but “Devil King” Vergil apparently still understood what a “standard of living” was in human terms, and he might be a bit more demanding than Patty about cleanliness. Within that week, not only had he gotten on Dante’s case for almost starting another collection of empty pizza boxes, but he also organized Dante’s collection of books. 

Yes, Dante owned books outside of magazines. He wasn’t an illiterate and he enjoyed a good play once in a while… and then there were the occult books he kept for reference that he thought he had hidden away well. 

“I appreciate you immediately putting your bookworm habits to use, Verge. But Patty might still drop by whenever she pleases and I don’t want her getting into those. They were hidden for a reason.”

“Is she not 18? It isn’t like you actually child-proofed this office in the first place. Get a proper bookshelf and put the questionable material up top. Surely she’d know better than to touch what she’s warned off of.”

At first, Dante was a little dumbfounded. But then, he laughed. “Seriously? You’re really trying to talk to me like you’d know better how to handle the little miss?” But as he chuckled and watched Vergil solemnly leaf through the next book to determine what to do with it, he didn’t press further. 

He held onto the idea that, if Vergil had known about Nero from the start, he would have done his damnedest to give Nero the love that he deserved. 

Would he have also loved Nero’s mother, though? 

Well, that wasn’t going to be an easy question to ask. But he’s certain Nero will ask Vergil at some point. 

The next day, Dante bought a cheap but workable DIY bookshelf and put it together. Eventually, the shelf and all the books ended up in Vergil’s room. Perhaps it was for the better that way. 

After getting the office sorted out, Vergil asked one of the questions Dante was hoping he didn’t have to answer: 

“How were you living in such a sorry state before? Clearly with the amount of money you could be making alone on these jobs, demon hunting or no, you could have at least…” He waved his hand to indicate about the office, where it was in a more repaired and organized state now. 

And for the time being, Dante couldn’t bear to tell him everything.

He couldn’t bear to revisit everything in the past right now. Couldn’t bear to explain how he was constantly in a state of being ready to leave it all behind ever since he thought he had killed him as Nelo Angelo. Couldn’t bear to explain that, yes, even though he loved pizza and strawberry sundaes, he stuck to it because it was just enough so that he wouldn’t become a walking corpse. That the food and the need for running water and electricity were secondary to the money he would send to the two girls that now run a business that contained haunting memories for him, or the money he now occasionally scrounges up as donations towards the orphanage that Kyrie and Nero worked hard to keep running. 

“It’s a tough story to tell, bro. Let’s just say… I had a really rough time, in my own way. And like how you’re needing time before you can tell me or Nero everything, I’m going to need some time, before I can tell you everything.”

And though Vergil looked away, pretending to busy himself with whatever organization project he was set on this time, Dante read it as an acknowledgement. 

So, he sat down, glanced at all the magazines that Vergil was sorting through…

And proceeded to argue with his brother over what “good reading taste” was supposed to be.

* * *

A few days later, Dante came back from a very quick solo job, and told Vergil: “Well, congratulations! It’s time for you to brave the next challenge!”

While in the middle of pulling bills and receipts to make sense out of Dante’s lack of accounting, Vergil looked up from the desk ( _Dante’s_ desk, that Vergil commandeered for now,) and narrowed his eyes at his brother. Before he could get word in, Dante raised a finger:

“Ah! Nope, listen first! _Patty_ has finally cornered me into demanding her due. And I do owe her. So, in a few hours, we are going to head to a bakery and cafe that recently rebuilt in the area of the city that’s shaping up, and we’re _all_ going to eat to our heart’s content with the birthday girl.”

“With what money?” Vergil was quick to try and be a killjoy. 

“With this money!” Dante proudly fished the envelope of bills from inside his coat. “Always loved a job that paid in cash upfront, not that it was a hard job to begin with.”

Again, Vergil scrutinized him. “So you plan on spending all of your earnings today on sweets?”

To that, Dante could only sigh. “Look, Verge. I might roll my eyes at Patty’s demands over me owing her a ton of ice cream or whatever filly dress she wants… though nowadays she’s upgraded to gowns and whatever else is classy for a teenager, but 18 is a pretty big deal. I meant to miss her party but I didn’t mean to miss her actual birthday. You and I? We wasted our reunions and what celebrations we should have had together. But I’m not going to blow this one off. Plus, surely you miss a good chocolate cake?”

The way his brother scowled showed that he was half minded to retort back, but he thought better about it this time, and instead asked: “Would it not be better to go yourself, then? She does not know me. I daresay she would only want to see you.”

“Nonsense, and too late. Morrison already let slip that my big brother is back and sticking around, so now she wants to meet you. So, on that note, I’m warning you: be on your best behaviour.”

Again, Vergil looked like he was ready to retort, because of course the knee jerk reaction would be to accuse Dante of having a poor memory for accusing Vergil of having bad behavior.

“You worry I would upset your little hellion, when her strongly worded letter seemed to indicate that you’ve done plenty to upset her already.”

“Yeah, and that’s between me and her, and still stacks up better to what you did to Nero.”

And so, Dante predictably got himself stabbed by a summoned sword. But hey, a single one was an improvement over five. Clearly, Vergil held back. 

“I find that comparison unfair. But I can see now that Lady Patty does hold a special place in your life. It would be rude of me to miss out on her invitation, then.” 

Now, Dante felt a chill down his spine. 

If Vergil actually played nice enough, he could see it now: he’s going to hear no end from Patty about his big brother is so much better.

“Okay, maybe don’t be _too_ well-behaved.”

Vergil smirked. 

* * *

Patty Lowell, dressed in lolita with ribbons and pink simply for the occasion, parked her red convertible at the street side, and immediately jumped out to look around for Dante and this mysterious brother of his. 

There, a couple of paces away from the storefront, was the familiar figure in red. He was arguing with someone who was fittingly in blue. Judging by the context and the hair colour, this must be the mysterious brother that Dante never talked about. 

Truth be told, Patty didn’t first learn about him through Morrison. 

She learnt about Vergil from Nero. 

Not long after the incident where Redgrave city was torn apart by a demonic tree, Patty had rushed in the moment she could slip by the city authorities to check on the shop. In hindsight, she should have just called Morrison first, but she did seem to have a knack of rushing in head-first when she’s worried about the people who are important in her life. 

She met Nero there, having a solemn (yet apparently frustrating) conversation with Morrison. 

She had known, for a very long time, that Dante was more than he seemed. But if he didn’t want to talk about it, she learnt to leave it be. After all, she would later come to evaluate all that she had witnessed, after discovering that demons and devils were real. She knew that Dante wasn’t human. She later ascertained that the truth was that he wasn’t _entirely_ human. 

But Dante never once showed her his other side. He made it a point not to. Even though she knew he was half-devil, they never touched the topic directly. He would rather have her out of harm’s way, and she…

Learnt her lesson about not listening to him when things got dangerous. 

But she leant an ear to Nero. They commiserate over Dante’s lack of presence. And he told her what little he was willing to tell her. 

Right now, in the present, it seemed Dante wasn’t just back. But he was lively. 

And he had a motorcycle that was very fitting of his style, though Patty was surprised he somehow managed to afford one-- Wait, on closer inspection, that can’t be a normal motorcycle. Well, it looked like he got a new toy. Let’s see how long that lasts, before he pawns it off just like all of his other devil arms. 

“Look, Verge, if motorcycles aren’t your style, then you can go get your own car. Sorry, but I don’t have a car anymore. That was sold ages ago.” 

Patty remembered that car. She had some fond memories of it. It was a shame that he had to sell it at some point. But it coloured her impressions, so when it finally came time for her first car, her 18th birthday gift from her mother was a car of her choice, and she chose a red convertible. 

And from beside said red convertible, she called out and waved: “DANTEEEEE!”

And right as he turned around, she sprinted towards him and jumped. 

He never failed to catch her, though she always wished he’d do more than just one spin around before setting her down. It’s always like this… as if he were afraid that touching her for too long would hurt her. 

And with that out of the way, she immediately reached over to pinch and pull at his ear, which took a considerable amount of reaching because he was so much taller than her. “You IDIOT! Why did you have to be gone for so long! And you didn’t even clean up before you left! Your shop remained a wreck for almost an entire month after you left! If it weren’t for Lady and Trish keeping the bills paid, I wouldn’t have had water to clean the place up with, either!”

“Ow, hey, hey, easy there, Patty! I didn’t really have much of a choice--”

Of course, she knew he probably didn’t have a better choice. But with Dante being Dante, oftentimes she felt like the only way to get any reaction out of him was to get mad at him. Otherwise, he’d just blow you off. It got a little better when he first found Nero, though Dante refused to talk about any deeper topic beyond he “found the kid promising” when he was clearly attached to Nero’s wellbeing. 

But seeing him less mopey now was good. She let go, and crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue at him. 

Dante couldn’t really get hurt just from her pulling his ear, and even if he reacted like such to humor her, she could feel that it was part of the friendship they had. 

Well, it was more than friendship. But it wasn’t quite anything as deep as she hoped for, either. 

And it was then, that the man in blue spoke, with a voice and cadence that was surprisingly different from Dante’s:

“So, you must be Miss Patty Lowell, then.”

Well, if Dante’s charm was being an overgrown puppy who sometimes moped about his own office, then his brother seemed to be the kind that would get attention for being somewhat the opposite. One look and him and she could tell he was the brooding kind, and his voice was surprisingly more soft-spoken. 

Yet Patty wasn’t fooled. This Vergil would by no means be a soft person. Like Dante, he was definitely more than human.

And she could tell he leaned more into the predator kind of feel than Dante did. 

Some people she knows in school would be totally all over Mr. Dark-and-Brooding here. 

“Yep, Patty Lowell, that’s me!” She curtsied. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Vergil!”

From what little Nero told her, Vergil might be a bit abrasive, and was “gone” for a long time. Seeing him now, Patty took it to mean he wasn’t even around society for a long while. But he seemed to still have more manners than Dante!

After a moment’s pause, as if Vergil were contemplating on how to return the greeting, he finally nodded and said: “Well met, Lady Patty. And… happy birthday.”

Hearing this, Patty couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh! So he told you? Did he also tell you that he’s several months late, and didn’t even come to my birthday party?”

Before she got to see how Vergil would respond to this, Dante groaned and tried to usher everyone towards the storefront. “Actually, you can absolutely blame my bro for that. He hired me on that job, you know!”

She huffed, but went along with it. As they were seated inside, she excitedly rambled to them both about all the wonderful things they served at this place. 

Dante immediately started off, of course, with a strawberry sundae. In all the time that has passed, though she wouldn’t call it her favorite of desserts, she had a fond place for it in her heart, so she doubled the order. Looking over at Vergil, she asked: “Or should we triple it?”

He had been browsing the menu carefully the entire time, and finally glanced up at her when she asked that. Honestly, Patty could almost describe Vergil as… skittish. Guess he didn’t deal well with socialization _or_ crowds and the likes. “No. I have something different in mind.” 

Vergil sets down the menu and points at an entry on it. “I haven’t had tiramisu in quite a long time. I would like to order this, please.”

After the server left with their orders, Patty immediately got treated to a display of typical sibling behaviour as Dante started: “Tiramisu, huh? Didn’t think you even knew what any of those fancy desserts were.”

“If you’re questioning my knowledge of desserts, I certainly know more than simply strawberry sundaes or chocolate cake.”

“Strange that you would. You would fight me over chocolate cake every time, I thought chocolate cake was all you’d ever like.”

“I can like more than one thing, Dante.”

Patty was beginning to see that Vergil didn’t really have a lot of patience for Dante’s ribbing, so she chimed in: “Oh, but you should try the black forest cake after the tiramisu! It’s sooooo good.”

“...I will keep that in mind.”

Just like she thought, Vergil wasn’t one for much conversation, so she momentarily dipped into conversation with Dante, starting with a lot of questions about _what even happened_ about Redgrave, half of which would go unanswered. Soon, she pivoted the topics into how uni was going for her, and how worried she had been when her mother had called first about what was going on, followed by the news. 

Their first orders came, and midway through her sundae, she noticed that Vergil seemed kinda down as he made it halfway through his dessert.

This didn’t escape Dante’s notice, either, and so he asked first: “Something wrong, Verge?”

“It’s nothing.” Was the immediate deflection. 

“Come on, don’t be like that. You used to love sweets.”

 _Ah, so the sweet tooth thing was a family trait?_ Patty thought. “Is there something wrong with the food itself?” She asked. 

“No, it’s just…” Vergil set his spoon down, and responded as if he weren’t really here with them: “I had this in Fortuna, a long time ago.”

Fortuna. That was where Nero was from, if Patty recalled correctly. And then she saw how Dante’s expression immediately softened, and he leaned back into his seat, almost awkwardly. “Ah. Thinking about her?”

“Shut up.” Vergil hid half of his face behind his hand and turned away, somewhat upset. 

And finally, Patty saw an opportunity to ask something that she had been wondering about since overhearing Nero and Morrison’s conversation. Something that had been nagging her:

“Dante. Why did you leave the deed to your shop with Morrison with the instructions to… give it to Nero if…” She trailed off. 

It wasn’t the part about the deed going to Nero that was the problem.

It was how it was handled right before Dante had gone on the job, instead of it being in a decision that was long predetermined, such as a will…

And perhaps the fact that it was brought up at all was upsetting. 

“Patty, I--” Before Dante could really explain, Vergil snapped his attention back to his brother, and asked with a measure of contained shock:

“You planned to leave the business to Nero?”

“Well, half of the business is already his. Figured it might as well go to him. Wasn’t sure if he’ll ever get to retrieve the Yamato and all to begin with, you know…”

“Dante.”

“I know, sword wasn’t really mine to give. But I thought you were dead.”

“ _Dante._ ”

The way Vergil emphasized his name made Dante pause. Patty was suddenly regretting bringing up the topic at all. 

“We will discuss this, later. But for what it’s worth, I’m glad to have a reason to be back again.”

And Patty now realized that maybe this was beyond just playfully chewing Dante out about things anymore. This wasn’t the first time he had gone out on some long mission and disappeared for a long time. She had been more upset at the implication that he was leaving for good. Worse was the implication that he wasn’t planning on coming out of things alive. 

But maybe now wasn’t a time to make a scene out of it. 

After all, look at him now: he’s back, with more family now. 

Patty understood the kind of joy and hope that can come from finding your family again. 

“Dante?” She asked softly: “Just promise you’ll always come home, okay?”

And from the way he smiled, so much more genuine than some of his promises before: “That’s where I always want to be, Patty. I never want to leave home.”

The way that Vergil looked sheepish as he put his attention back to his tiramisu made something click in Patty’s mind, and now she was even more curious about their entire situation. But she supposed that wasn’t her business. 

“Then it’s good to have you home, Dante. And you, too, Mr. Vergil. Since you’re both back now… maybe this year I could invite you to Christmas, and you’d actually show up? Both of you, even!”

“Ah, no can do, kiddo…” Dante started. 

“What! But you already missed out on my birthday! How can you still say no!” She pouted, only half angry, because she had a feeling Dante didn’t like typical parties, and maybe the scenario would be asking too much of Vergil. 

And it was Vergil who answered for him: “I’m afraid we’ve already decided to visit my son and his family for Yule.”

“Oh!” Patty’s eyes went wide. 

From how upset Nero had been when he outlined Vergil as his deadbeat father who likely didn’t even know of Nero’s existence, Patty had watched enough soap operas and drama in her life to read into certain things deeply. 

Such as the fact that Vergil would verbally acknowledge Nero as his son. 

Oh, this was going to be _good._ Yes, Patty will take this over Dante missing out yet another one of her invitations. A first proper family reunion over Yule? Now _that_ was perfect for reconciliation. 

“That’s wonderful! Do they also do gifts for Yule there? Will you be bringing anything for the dinner table? Oh, did you like this tiramisu? You could buy an entire one whole here and bring it for dessert for the family!”

Vergil’s gaze flicked towards Dante, and Dante blinked. 

“Ya know, we haven’t really thought about that. I was more concerned about Verge getting used to interacting with people, first…”

“I’m not a child, Dante! Should I remind you that I’m older than you?”

“Again, how much does that matter when _we’re twins?_ ”

Well, isn’t that cute! Nero didn’t tell her that Vergil was Dante’s older twin, though. She filed that away for later. 

But if there was one thing for sure, she could tell these two were each a mess of their own, and was going to need to help. 

“Well, you can’t go to Yule empty handed! Here, let me, the magnanimous Patty Lowell, help make sure you will arrive to a happy and fulfilling family gathering!”

* * *

At just one week before Yule, Nero picked up a phone call on the home phone, which usually meant a call for Kyrie, whom he deemed as the true caretaker of the property:

“Eleison residence.” He started off. 

“Eleison? Is that how it’s going to go, kid, when you finally ask her to marry you? Guess it’s not like you have a name to give, though--”

Nero immediately slammed the phone down so hard that he startled even himself, and was glad he didn’t break it. He glanced around, hoping he didn’t spook any of the kids. But Kyrie noticed, and asked: “Is everything okay, Nero?”

Trying to figure out if he was happy or upset, he just mumbled: “That was Dante.”

The phone rings again, and knowing he had to face the music at some point, he picked up the phone with a scowl: “So you finally decided to come back, old man!”

“Hey now, is that any way to greet your favorite uncle--”

“Don’t even get me started on that, _Uncle Dante_!” He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “So, you’re calling me. In the years we knew each other, you have called me maybe _once_ , and other times you just drop by unannounced. This better be _good.”_

Behind him, Kyrie came up to set a hand upon his shoulder. While she didn’t mean to be nosy, she also knew how stressed he had been over this entire situation, and he was grateful for her presence. Otherwise, he might flip his shit over this phone call right about now. 

“Well, kid, we got your invitation for Yule this year.”

 _We._ He said _we._

“And I thought I’d give you a head’s up that we’re dropping by this year.”

Nero’s breath hitched. 

Was this how he wanted it? He was still so mad at Dante, and at Vergil, for all the bullshit that happened. 

But this is family. What he prayed for since he was a kid. Something he still held hope for even after being fostered. 

After he had first met Dante, after defeating Sanctus, he had asked him if they would meet again. And since then, he did actually appreciate every rare moment he got to hear from Dante, or see him. He never dropped his attitude towards him, but he believed in his strength, and was grateful for some of the precedent Dante could set for him as a devil hunter, and as something not entirely human.

And speaking of human things… there were still some things that bears saying:

“It’s about _time._ I don’t need to remind you that we have kids here, so you better… you should…” The words died in his throat. 

Would it please him, or upset him, to witness how well Vergil was going to behave around children?

Would it give him a glimpse of the life he could have had as a child?

“No weapons, no fighting, no devil kerfuffle. Warned him already, kid.”

 _“Stop calling me kid, old man.”_ He hissed back, though hardly mad about it because this was just how their interactions went. 

“Whatever you say, kiddo.”

Groaning, Nero thought he might as well just wrap up this conversation and move on to prepare for their two extra guests. “All right. Cool, uh, just… try not to cause a scene or anything. Damn, I hope this is going to turn out okay…”

“Hey, chill. Look, I know you’re probably looking to punch me again the next time you see me…”

It was odd to hear Dante say this so casually. But it was the truth. 

“And I’m not proud of the stuff I landed you in.”

Wait, what does that mean?

“But we can have a chat about that some other day, after Yule, okay? Same with your pops.”

Inhale. Exhale. “Speaking of Vergil, is he with you?”

“Not right at this moment. I’m taking this opportunity to call you while he’s out.”

“Wait, why?” Nevermind the fact that Dante isn’t out there keeping an eye on him at the moment, but it sounded like he wanted to make this call while Vergil couldn’t hear it.

“Wanted to sort out a few things without him knowing. Do you guys do any gifting for Yule?”

“For the kids, yeah. Won’t really have much to give to you or your brother on such short notice, not that we could have afforded much.” His and Kyrie’s gifts to each other had always been simple. And even Nico was understanding of it, though this was the first year she was joining them, also, instead of going home to check on her side of the family.

“Alright, good to know. Maybe we’ll find something for the kids, then. And I got another question for you. What if we brought dessert? You guys like tiramisu?”

Nero wasn’t seeing why any of this conversation needed to be so secretive that Vergil shouldn’t be hearing. “Tiramisu?” He repeated.

He glanced over at Kyrie. She smiled, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. 

“If you want tiramisu, don’t bring one. Kyrie will make you the best tiramisu you’ve ever had.”

It was odd to hear Dante laugh without being snarky in some way. “Really? Well, don’t turn to me to ask how it is. Verge might be able to tell you better. But, I wanted to let you in on something I learnt in the past few weeks.”

Adjusting the phone at his ear, Nero asked: “Yeah, and what would that be?”

“Your dad likes tiramisu. Now, we both actually like sweets--” Okay, maybe Nero shouldn’t be surprised about the sweets thing, but somehow it was hard to imagine either Vergil or even V liking sweets. “But it seems Verge got a taste for it because of someone in Fortuna, when he was younger.”

This piece of information came from out of nowhere, and before Nero could even ascertain with Dante if he understood this correctly, Dante just continued on:

“Well, happy tidings and all that jazz. Consider this my Yule gift to you. Laters, kid.”

And he hung up. 

Nero wanted to curse and slam the phone, but after the gem Dante left him with, he could only set the phone down gently while he processed all of the information he was given. 

Kyrie led him out of his reeling head with her hand in his, guiding him towards the living room couch. “Well, it looks like Yule is going to be quite lively this year, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah… just hope it doesn't get a little too lively.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure this out. And what’s this about tiramisu? Dante seemed to have a lot to say about it.”

“It’s… I guess my dad likes tiramisu, and I think Dante was trying to tell me that it has something to do with… my mom.” He couldn’t believe it. Could this mean he might actually get some proper answers?

And Kyrie could tell what was going on in his mind. She gave him a warm embrace, and told him: “I think we made the right choice, sending that invitation. If anything, the timing will be perfect. That they are willing to come, means they are willing to reconcile. Give them the chance. You will know how to be a family like you should, and I will always be here for you.”

He couldn’t help but let out his admiration and his concern: “Kyrie, he’s still the guy that raised a bloody devil tree and ripped off my arm…”

“I know.” She said softly and ran her hand down the back of his head to soothe him. 

“Lady said he cared about nothing but power…”

“She also told us that her father used him.” She reassured him. 

“But I’m…”

“What he did cannot be condoned, but we both know that he was never given the proper chance to evaluate what had happened. He’s your father, and you know in your heart what you must do, in order to decide how you will face him.”

What he must do…

“I’ll ask him. He doesn’t seem like the forthcoming type, but I’ll ask him. About everything. And that includes asking Dante. And then… if at all possible…”

“If at all possible, we’ll invite them to next Yule, too, right?”

* * *

Yule every year starts off with a lot of rushing around and anxiety. Nero gets up early in the morning to make sure he had grabbed all the extra chairs they needed from the attic, first. Then, he double-checks that all the gifts for the kids are properly wrapped and hidden away for now. And not long after, Kyrie is up, and he helps her wrangle the excited children. 

And then it was a day of preparing most of the food in the kitchen, and keeping the excited kids entertained. 

And Nico almost counted among the excited kids. She arrived early to also provide what help she could, but not without excitedly rambling about how it’s great that Dante and Vergil are back, along with how she wonders if they would let her check out some of their devil arms (Nero knew that despite pawning off most of them, Dante kept his favorites.)

In between all of this, she also gave him some ribbing over this turning out to be family gathering that just keeps getting bigger. At one point, while they were out back and out of earshot from Kyrie, Nico asked him: “So, when’re you gonna finally pop the question?”

“Since when was that your business? Does it look like it’s been a good time for that, with the recent events going on?” Nero wasn’t really fond of people asking him that. He truly does want to get around to marrying Kyrie, but there was just so much going on…

Money, for one thing, was a factor. And he’s not sure how much or how little he should put in for the ring alone, let alone the ceremony. Though there was a small number of what’s left of the Fortunan community that have warmed up to him, he also still wasn’t sure if it would work out…

Was he good enough for her? What if he’d only bring her trouble, and cause people to become disdainful for her choice if she said yes?

Would she say yes?

Clearly, Nico didn’t care about the mess that went on in his head. “You should get to it. Shouldn’t keep a girl waiting forever. Maybe next year for Yule the family could be a bit bigger, too.”

Immediately picking up on the implication Nico was putting down, Nero swiveled his gaze to her and scowled while responding in a low voice: “Are you kidding me? We’ve got three kids under this roof already, and they need to be taken care of, first. Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, Nico.”

She just laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t get all bristly and defensive, man. Just sayin’, you got a better chance than all the other guys and gals out there. She’s holding out for you and you ain't even seeing it.”

It’s not that he’s not seeing it! But damn, maybe Nico was right about one thing. 

Hell, maybe “soon” wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. He couldn’t help but feel that it was time to do more to keep his family closer together. Granted, it wasn’t as if he really knew what was going on with Dante’s side of things, but now that he knew, he was sticking to it:

They were family. He’s going to try his damndest to keep them all together. 

“If you want to be nosy about it, then maybe you can help me figure out how to go about it. _Later._ Do you know how expensive engagement rings are? And before you get ahead of yourself, we’re not talking about adding any more kids to the house!”

And so Nico rolled her eyes. “Genuine advice on the first part, but I was teasing you on the last part, man. I know you’re all working hard enough already for these kiddos. But just so you know, when you do have a kid of your own, an’ they go into fighting baddies just like you and the rest of your family? You’d better let me make their first weapon.”

“You’re not sounding very convincing on the teasing part.” Nero feigned exasperation. “Drop the topic for now and focus on tonight. Also, I can’t _believe_ you brought gifts for Dante and Vergil. What the heck did you bring them?”

“You’ll just have to find out later! Don’t worry, I got one here for you, too.” She just grinned. 

Now, as for the children, who had met Dante barely a couple of times, they were excited to hear that he was visiting for Yule for once. Dante was surprisingly tolerant of kids, in his own way. Later, when Nero learned of Patty, he supposed the guy actually had some practice. (He found himself often wanting to take a step away from her, uncertain of how to approach her energy. But turns out, she wasn’t half bad. Especially after they were able to conversate over Dante’s behavior together.)

Julio, Carlo, and Kyle all referred to Dante as “Uncle Dante.” 

And Dante, with his ridiculous (though admittingly cool) fashion sense and open personality, attracted the kids’ attention very well. Though Nero had no problems keeping up with the kids, a few years ago, he wasn’t as built as Dante and still had some growing left to do. Dante was immediately well received as a jungle gym, and surprisingly allowed the kids to pester him into picking them up and running around with them in any manner of tag. 

But it was also clear that Dante was, at his core, more versed in fighting than anything else. Before Nero knew it, the kids took to play-fighting with him. Dante always played the role of the monster, and eventually the kids had roped Nero into the play-pretend, too. 

It was the few times like those that made Nero wonder if they were related in some way deeper than just being not-quite-human devil hunters. 

But as it turns out, the playful Legendary Devil Hunter who would only show a proper smile in front of the orphans wasn’t Nero’s dad. 

Instead, Nero got the unknown factor of Vergil. And if V was any measure of Vergil’s character, Nero highly doubts Vergil would mirror Dante in the department of handling kids. 

Nero did explain to the kids that they had another guest this time, this guest being Dante’s brother. The children were understandably interested in meeting this mysterious new person, but he had to make sure they understood that Vergil, despite being Dante’s brother, might not react the same way as Dante would, so things needed to start off politely before anyone starts to get too energetic with their questions. 

And much as he wanted to avoid talking about the truth to orphaned kids who will never see their dead parents again, he had to tell them something. 

It was then, that Kyle, the youngest of the three, asked with wide eyes: “So, we’re being visited by grandpa?”

Nero almost choked, and then Julio elbowed Kyle in a disgruntled manner. 

“Not grandpa. Just Nero’s dad.” Julio seemed somewhat upset. 

At Kyle’s “But…” Carlo argued that “Nero’s dad is kind of like grandpa, right?” Nero immediately realized where the disconnect was. 

It’s been a little bit, since they’ve touched up on this topic. 

He reassured them that the kids were family to him, even though for the most part Julio and Carlo was just a bit too old while Nero was just a bit too young to really fit the typical child-to-parent dynamics, Nero didn’t think twice on the idea that, if the kids saw it that way, he’ll fill the role for them. 

(Damn, maybe this was another reason he should get on that engagement ring for Kyrie, soon. These kids needed them. As the years went on, Nero thought of this less and less as a temporary place for the kids, and more and more as his family.)

But they should stick with calling Vergil “Mr. Vergil” for now and figure things out later on that front.

It was right after that conversation and explanation that Nero realized…

Being a parent was a choice. 

So, if this was a choice Vergil was willing to make, then Nero will resolve to give him the chance to make up for not being there in his life. 

* * *

They actually showed up on time. 

Nero was expecting them to be late. 

He also expected for them to show up with Dante’s loud motorcycle, but later it became clear that because Vergil had been to Fortuna before, they took a shortcut via a portal with the Yamato. (Man, things would have been super convenient if Nero knew the Yamato could do that before!)

Though he always expected Dante to be wearing his signature red, seeing Vergil still in the same blue coat with silver embroidery immediately gave Nero flashbacks of their first and only meeting during the Qliphoth incident. 

Maybe it wasn’t such a good thing for their first reunion since that incident to be during Yule, but Kyrie immediately diffused the tension by inviting them inside. 

And that’s when the kids crowded about Dante immediately, with a few wary and nervous glances towards Vergil, who seemed to be at a loss on what to do, other than to nod and greet the children back politely. 

Dante seemed to have a game plan, and that game plan was to immediately garner Nico’s excited attention, and move back into the living room with her and the kids with some immediate and easy-to-make excuse of chatting with Nico and asking the kids how they’ve been, leaving Vergil at the doorstep with Nero and Kyrie.

Dante had apparently left a stack of gift boxes in Vergil’s hands. 

“Where should I…” He asked, and Kyrie reached forward to receive them.

“Oh, Mr. Vergil, you guys didn’t have to! But we can put it in the cabinet with the other gifts, for now! We’ll exchange gifts after dinner.”

Though she responded, Nero didn’t allow her to take the full stack, and left her with only the two items at the top as he took the other three items, one of which was fairly large… is this a _guitar??_ “We, uh… I’m sure Dante told you, but we only really got gifts for the kids, so we don’t have anything for you guys…” Kyrie had adamantly refused any sort of gift this year from Nero, stating that she didn’t want him to worry about it. He vowed he’d make it up for her, later. 

“I did not expect you to. We…” Vergil trailed off, somehow unable to finish his sentence on whatever his reasoning was. And so he diverted the topic: “I did not realize that Nicoletta would be here, also.”

“Yeah, this is her first year staying with us.” Nero simply answered without thinking on why this was an important observation. 

“I didn’t expect her to be here, and we did not think to bring something for her.”

Oh, well, shoot. This was awkward. Nero didn’t take Vergil for someone to care about that. So he tried to wave it off: “She’ll be fine. She probably has a hundred questions about demons and stuff that you and Dante could answer and she’ll call it even.”

But this didn’t seem to satisfy Vergil. “I have a remedy for this. I’ll be back soon.” With the Yamato held purposefully in hand, he turned and left through the door before Nero could protest. 

“What does…” Nero started, but Kyrie giggled. 

“Well, I think this is a good sign to a good start. It’s funny, honestly. You’re like that, too. You hope to leave no one out, especially when they are important to the occasion.”

Nero could only stare as he listened to this comparison. It felt too early to be told things like this. But he didn’t want to argue with Kyrie, as they brought the gifts to where they needed to go. He was mostly concerned about how Kyrie would react to Vergil, because he was directly responsible for the nightmare of the end of April all the way into May. 

And then, before he knew it, Vergil was back through the door, with another package, somehow perfectly wrapped despite how briefly he was gone. He handed it Nero, with the words: “If memory serves, demon parts for her research would be a fitting gift.”

Receiving it, Nero could only give him a dumbfounded look as he realized that Vergil was implying that he recalled his time as V.

But before he could ask about it, Vergil effectively ran away by giving him a nod and turning towards the living room. 

Kyrie gently took the gift for Nico from Nero’s hands, and gently patted the back of his hand as she did so. “It was very thoughtful of him. I’ll go and do the finishing touches for dinner. Would you set the table in a moment?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah.” 

He actually planned to just follow her towards the dining room and kitchen, but she then stopped him, and simply canted her head towards the living room entrance. 

She wanted him to check on their guests, first, he understood. 

And in the living room, Vergil was hovering inside by the door, as if he were ready to bolt at any given moment. He watched Dante and Nico wrangle the kids, with Nico excitedly trying to get hunting stories out of Dante. 

Nero could only hope that Dante would remember their past agreements, that if he’s going to tell the kids anything, he needs to censor anything that could give a kid a nightmare. Surprisingly, he agreed, but not without taking a jab at Nero first about him being scared of “scary stories.”

And then, a thought came to his mind. He turned to Vergil, and asked: “Since they’re busy, you mind helping me set up the table?”

Though Vergil turned his head towards Nero, his gaze was cast down. The way he responded without really looking at Nero reminded him of V…

“Very well.”

And that was that. Awkwardly, Nero led him to the dining room, and he started to grab all of the plates and silverware needed and handed them to Vergil. The task was done mostly in silence, save for the sound of clinking ceramic and silverware. They started at one side of the table, and made their way around in opposite directions, before meeting up on the other side. 

“...It has been a long time, since I’ve helped to set the table, though never for this many people.” Vergil broke the silence. 

It started Nero a little. Now that he wasn’t flustered when they showed up at the door, he was able to evaluate Vergil a little better. He could see now, that though there was a significant difference in the style they seemed to carry, the line between Vergil and V was very blurry. Perhaps, if V had not been so physically encumbered by impending death, Nero would see even more similarity between the human half and the whole. 

But as for a response, Nero couldn’t think of much, other than to say: “I heard you lost your family when you were just a kid. I guess that was about the last time you had to set a table, huh…”

Those memories clearly weren’t something Vergil wanted to think about, and Nero immediately regretted bringing it up when Vergil’s gaze seemed momentarily haunted. But then, he offered a piece of knowledge that made Nero’s heart skip a beat: “While that is true, I was more thinking of the last time I was here in Fortuna.”

Oh. He meant…

Nero almost felt like it was too early to ask. But he couldn’t help it: “Did you spend Yule in Fortuna, with my mother?”

A bitter smile formed on his lips, and his gaze was again, cast away. “No. Nothing like that. It was a fairly simple time I had spent here. But truly, I also haven’t had Yule, actually Christmas, since Dante and I were separated.”

Well, that’s just depressing. Why was this whole family depressing? Nero sucked in a breath, and tried to console with: “Well, you’re here now. You get to have Yule with us now.”

“Yes. I will admit, when Dante first brought this up, I was apprehensive. But, Nero…”

Nero’s memory of Vergil speaking his name was first during a turbulent time. To hear it now, in such a scene, made something ache in his heart. 

“I have known nothing but pain in my past. And that past, and my decisions, had unwittingly brought you pain. I don’t think there’s anything I could do to make up for it, but perhaps, I could hope to reconcile in some way.”

Honestly, this might be a little too much for now. Yule might be a sappy time, but it doesn’t need to get too sappy. 

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you came. Glad you both made it this year. I don’t know if this reconciliation thing is going to be easy, but, if you’re willing to try… then I do want to be family. That’s a choice I would like to make.” 

Hearing that, Vergil seemed to nod solemnly. “Dante once told me that strength was a choice, too. I used to think that I lived my life having lost everything, and I blinded myself to what I had already regained.”

“Yeah, well, if you so much as try to ditch us again or do anything stupid, I’ll be sure to beat some sense out of you.” 

“I would like to see you try, child. I did tell you, last time, that I will not lose next time.”

He did, didn’t he? And suddenly, Nero realized that, in his own way, Vergil had left him a promise that he would return.

And before he could retort, Vergil then added: “And there is more you want from me, I am sure. Dante made it plain that I owe you answers. Though I did remind him, that so does he. Your questions about your family and your heritage is a story that is not solely mine to tell.”

“...And, my mother?”

“...Perhaps, after dinner, and after the gift exchange. I will tell you about her, I promise you this much.”

It was a start. It was a big start. And hearing that, Nero finally found it in himself to smile back. “You promise? Well, I’ll hold you to it, then.”

Yule was definitely going to be extra sappy this year. But that’s okay. Family should be sappy once in a while, right?

**Author's Note:**

> \- “Wait, you’re just going to end it there?” Well, here’s the thing… I ran out of time. :’D Also, it would be a shame for me to dip into Yule too much in this story and then effectively repeat it again in my other multi-chapter project when the time comes. So, yes I’m leaving some of that stuff for a different story, haha!  
> \- Despite me saying this is unrelated to my other works, on the topic of Nero’s mom, I will always describe her with the traits of Seraphina Valkyrie.  
> \- References to the first Devil May Cry novel were made, yes. I’m not 100% fond of it but I can’t 100% deny all of its aspects.  
> \- I’m sure that Patty wears things that are also more typical of the average young adult of today, but I feel like she’d be totally into some of the fancy couture that isn’t everyday wear. (I mean, I am.) It’s all about dressing for the occasion.  
> \- Honestly, this didn’t feel super polished. But that’s what happens when I start too late and leave myself only 1 months to write 7 stories before a deadline, haha.


End file.
